COMPANY NEWS; PHARMERICA TO PAY $6 MILLION TO SETTLE KICKBACK CASE

Published: March 30, 2005

PharMerica, a leading provider of pharmacy supplies and services to nursing homes, agreed yesterday to pay the federal government nearly $6 million to resolve accusations of illegal kickbacks. As part of the settlement, the company denied any wrongdoing and the government dropped a demand that PharMerica be excluded from government contracts for 10 years. The government alleged that PharMerica, a subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen, of Valley Forge, Pa., violated federal antikickback laws by paying an excessive price for a small Virginia pharmacy in return for a commitment from the seller to refer its Medicaid and Medicare pharmacy business to the company for the next seven years.